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Afghanistan's Zia-ur-Rehman Akbar earns maiden ODI call-up for Zimbabwe series

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced two 16-member squads for the upcoming white-ball series against Zimbabwe, comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is.


Zia-ur-Rehman Akbar is the latest entrant in Afghanistan's ODI set-up. The left-arm spinner has been rewarded based on his tournament-defining performance in the Green Afghanistan One-Day Cup. Zia was the leading wicket-taker (14) for Hindukush Strikers in the competition.


While Gulbadin Naib was already dropped from the T20Is, he now finds himself out of the mix from the side's ODI plans as well. The all-rounder last played a T20 game for Afghanistan in November 2021, and since then, his performance in ODI cricket has also declined, with his numbers in the recent games showing a poor state of his career.


Although Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been named in the squad for the ODIs, his commitment with Middlesex made him unavailable for the T20I series. On the other hand, Qais Ahmad will be with Kent throughout the Vitality T20 Blast and will miss out on the upcoming international fixtures.


In the absence of the aforementioned spinners, Ihsanullah Jannat and Noor Ahmad have been given a go in the shortest-format of the game.


Noor and Nijat Masoud found places as the reserves for the ODI series. 


Speaking of Afghanistan's white-ball tour of Zimbabwe, the hosts will fly later this week. The three-match ODI series will begin on June 4 and be followed by three T20Is, first scheduled on June 11. All the games will be played at Harare Sports Club.


ODI squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Ibrahim Zadran, Ikram Alikhail (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Mujib ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rashid Khan, Riaz Hassan, Shahidullah Kamal, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zia-ur-Rehman Akbar.


Reserves: Noor Ahmad, Nijat Masoud


T20I squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran (vc), Afsar Zazai (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ihsanullah Janat, Karim Janat, Nijat Masoud, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rashid Khan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Usman Ghani.


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